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Every spell is like a transaction. A sacrifice of some kind must be paid to cast a spell, or a price will be extracted from you afterward. This can range from sacrificing materials (blood, precious stones, an object of sentimental value) to sacrificing time (performing a ritual, reciting a chant, meditation) to even a personal sacrifice (memories, exhaustion, your body heat). The more powerful or complicated the spell, the higher the cost scales.
Every spell is like a transaction. A sacrifice of some kind must be paid to cast a spell, or a price will be extracted from you afterward. This can range from sacrificing materials (blood, precious stones, an object of sentimental value) to sacrificing time (performing a ritual, reciting a chant, meditation) to even a personal sacrifice (memories, exhaustion, your body heat). The more powerful or complicated the spell, the higher the cost scales.
If you foolishly try to cast a spell without paying the price, you will immediately run into the effects of magical burnout, magical corruption, or unleashing rampant Wild Magic.
Magical Burnout
Magical Burnout
Mystics are the best conduits for magic, but they’re still of this realm. Channeling raw power from an otherworldly plane still takes a physical and mental toll. Continuously using magic, keeping a spell active for a long period of time, or stringing a lot of spells together back-to-back will lead to magical burnout. The early stages of burnout is a weakening of spells, requiring more and more power to achieve expected results. Pushing yourself past your limits will start leading to many symptoms of strain and overwork, including migraines, nausea, fevers, blackouts, cardiac events, and will inevitably cause temporary or long-term magical impotence.
Magical Corruption
Magical Corruption
The longer a person is exposed to too much energy, whether it’s solar, thermal, nuclear, etc, or the more intense the exposure, the greater the chance of them being changed by it. The same goes for magic. Using a lot of magic in a short period of time - from either casting too many spells or a few really big spells - without a chance to “cool off” increases the risk that magic will begin to physically change the Mystic.
Often this manifests as physical attributes related to the type of magic the Mystic had been using or the Mystic’s theme (for example an Invocation hedge witch sprouting giant thorns from her face and shoulders after rapidly growing saplings into trees all day) or in cases where the spell wasn’t well controlled or is outside the Mystic’s magical theme or schools of magic, the effects can truly be random (the Invocation hedge witch sprouting demon horns and oozing yellow slime after trying to make everyone in her neighborhood suffer a mass hallucination). A single unmastered spell is all it takes to become corrupted. Once magical corruption occurs, it does not fade away, unless specifically “cleansed” or removed by a Mystic capable of altering people, and even then success can vary. The effects of magical corruption can continuously grow or gain new effects if the Mystic engages in habitual overuse or regular use of unmastered spells.
Magical Risks
Magical Risks
As magic comes from another reality and has the ability to warp this one, it is inherently risky to use. Every single spell that involves channeling magic from the Mystical Plane (anything about a Casual magic level) has the chance that some of that magic is going to spill out, often to unpredictable results. It’s the Wild Magic being wild. It might be backlash from the spell or a random effect. If you’re lucky, you just get bubbles and the smell of mint. More severe cases involve event horizons and liquefying bones. Similarly, the risk of magical burnout or magical corruption also grows with the less familiarity you have with a spell.
The risk tends to scale with how big or complex the spell is, as the more power one draws on or the more moving parts there are, the easier it is to let something slip through the cracks and the more strain it is on you. Risk occurs when magic is not under control. There are several ways to mitigate the risk, however.
Be prepared for anything.
Be prepared for anything.
Prepare to use additional acts either magic or mundane to plan for any potential outcome, although when the effects of Wild Magic can literally be anything, this isn’t advisable.
Meticulously plan out and perform a ritual.
Meticulously plan out and perform a ritual.
A well-thought out spell that has been rehearsed and is taking place in a calm, maybe sterile environment with no chance of being disrupted is generally the best bet to ensure there’s almost or actually no risk of random and chaotic effects from occurring.
Rules for safer spellcasting
Rules for safer spellcasting
Rule 1 - Practice, practice, practice.
Rule 1 - Practice, practice, practice.
Practice until you know the words, symbols, gestures, or rituals by heart. Let them become muscle memory, if you will. The more familiar you are with a spell, the more attuned you become to it and better you are at ensuring it does exactly what you want.
Rule 2 - Use focus items.
Rule 2 - Use focus items.
Items that you’ve specifically prepared and/or enchanted for a particular spell or type of spellcasting can greatly increase your control over the spell and ensure it does what you want, much like using a ruler to draw a straight line instead of freehanding it or using an app to keep track of time instead of counting the seconds yourself. In this case, using a wand carved from oak and tipped with silver can help you more easily cast lightning bolts, or an inherited teapot for your tea readings can ensure that you’re not summoning horrible nightmares instead.
Rule 3 - Do not improvise.
Rule 3 - Do not improvise.
When you’ve mastered a spell, don’t try to change it on the fly. Changing a single variable can be the difference in it just sputtering out or possibly blowing up in your face. Cutting out rituals, materials, or incantations is often a recipe for literal disaster. Likewise, attempting to imitate someone else’s magical style or spells without making it your own will almost always result in bad things happening.
Rule 4 - Have a precise and narrowly defined goal for the spell.
Rule 4 - Have a precise and narrowly defined goal for the spell.
A single, simple outcome, or an outcome that is painstakingly detailed is easier to focus on, either because you’ve gone over all the angles and ensured there are no loopholes, or it’s so simple there’s no room for error. If you give a vague idea of what you want the spell to do, the spell might only vaguely do what you want it to.
Rule 5 - Give it your sole attention.
Rule 5 - Give it your sole attention.
Spells require your concentration and if you don’t give them the attention they deserve, they may act out and you do not want that. This is vital, especially when in a dangerous situation when you may only have seconds to act or react - too many distractions might prevent you from keeping your spell straight and could plunge the area into chaos, and not the good kind.
Rule 6 - Avoid overkill.
Rule 6 - Avoid overkill.
In many cases, a weaker spell can perform a task just as well as a powerful, top-tier spell. It’s usually advisable to use a lesser spell as even if Wild Magic is unleashed, it’s usually correspondingly weaker and easier to manage. Weaker spells also diminish chances of burnout and magical corruption, so it’s a win-win-win.
TL;DR
TL;DR
In short, treat magic like fire or nuclear radiation. Respect it, take all proper precautions, and it’s yours. Play fast and loose and risk devastation.
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